Airline Name
Kitty Hawk Aircargo (Kitty Hawk Aircargo Incorporated)
(Apologies for the low quality of the logo, there were very little sources provided for it in general.)IATA: KR / ICAO: KHA / CALLSIGN: AIR KITTYHAWK
Founded in 1976, commenced operations in 1985, ceased operations in 2008 (Jan. 8th)
(Financial difficulties, which led to bankruptcy)
Country of Origin
United States of America, North America ()
Main Hub(s): Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Fort Wayne International Airport (FWA)
Aircraft Types Used (from those available in WoA)
(For this airline, there are a limited number of aircraft types available, yet it can still be added.)Aircraft operated (already in-game/planned):
Boeing 737 (-300BDSF, B733F) - 7 former.
(Pictured below: N111KH - now known as PR-SLI)Aircraft operated (not in-game):
Boeing 727 (-200F, -200F Adv, B722F) - exact number of aircraft operated not available/not clear.
(Pictured below: Boeing 727-200F N180AX - stored)This type also had what I can presume to be an earlier livery, shown here:
(Pictured below: Boeing 727-200F N6810 - status unknown)The 727-200 Adv had the same set of liveries, which I’ll now put below:
(Pictured below: Boeing 727-200F Adv N751US - status unknown)(Pictured below: Boeing 727-200F Adv N6833 - later scrapped)
Anyways, moving onto the next type:
Convair 600 (600F, 640F, CVLT) - exact number of aircraft operated not available/not clear.
(Pictured below: Convair 600F N94279 - status unknown)(Pictured below: Convair 640F N866TA - later scrapped)
And before we go to the next aircraft, here’s an alternative livery for the 640F:
(Pictured below: Convair 640F N860FW - later scrapped)Now, with that done, here’s the next - and final - aircraft:
McDonnell Douglas DC-9 (-15F, -15RC, DC91F/DC91C) - 3 former.
(2/1 for each variant, respectively.)
(Pictured below: McDonnell Douglas DC-9-15F N563PC - now known as XA-TIG)Unfortunately, no examples of the DC-9s were painted into the modern blue livery worn by the 727s and 737s, likely because they all were retired from the airline by 2001.
However, there is something notable about these Douglas types that I wanted to mention. You likely noticed the -15RC variant listed - this refers to N112PS, which during part of its life with Kitty Hawk Aircargo, was operated in that configuration, which I’ll put below:(Pictured below: McDonnell Douglas DC-9-15RC N112PS - stored)
Later on, though, N112PS appeared to have been fully converted into a dedicated freighter. That shot above was taken around May 1994, whereas this next shot was taken in January 1999:
(Pictured below: Ditto, in a later fully converted configuration)
Photos of the aircraft in this form appear to be pretty scarce though - likely because the aircraft left the fleet only two years after this shot was taken, specifically around July 2001.
But before I close this suggestion off, I’d like to say that I apologize if any information is inaccurate - researching long-gone airlines like this requires me to be quite a bit more considerate with the information I provide, as one might guess.
Not to complain about it, because it certainly is quite fun looking at airlines like this - all I’m saying is that if there are any inaccuracies or anything I might’ve missed, do let me know in a reply and I’ll be sure look into it - a stance that both applies and will apply to all of my other suggestions as well.
Why should this airline be added?
I’d say this airline should be added because it would certainly be a rather notable airline with a small, yet unique history and fleet - suited best for the soon-to-be 737 family implementation(s).
While it would likely be in the form of event or special contract material, it would still give some spotlight to an honestly rather niche and somewhat obscure airline all the same.
I do actually think that this airline would be really nice to see on the map as a normal contract (primarily through its 737s and possibly 727s, if later added - they were operated at the time of the airline’s closure) but with the “2010s rule” in place, I don’t believe it would show up as that.But regardless of what it is in-game, event or map contract operator, let’s discuss where they would go: as you might expect, they would be capable of reaching all airports in North America, with SXM as a possible option too.
Furthermore, if an airport like Anchorage or Honolulu were added, then they could definitely appear there, too, maybe even as a special arrival, as Wikipedia claims that services were operated to both of those aforementioned airports. But at the end of the day, we’ll have to wait and see until such airports get added, or really, if they are.With that bit aside though, as a summary, this airline should be added primarily because it could work as a nice little addition with the upcoming 737 family, providing a bit of a spotlight to a rather small and niche, yet still notable defunct airline - through both its fleet and history as an airline.
(this suggestion was also made because i flew out of dallas yesterday; i plan to make another suggestion with a similar motivation lol)
SOURCES:
Kitty Hawk Aircargo’s Planespotters.net Page
Kitty Hawk Aircargo’s Wikipedia Page
